'Tallest building in N.J.' planned for Jersey City

'Tallest building in N.J.' planned for Jersey City

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said the planned 95-story tower is "another milestone moment" for the city.

A Chinese developer is planning a 95-story, 760-unit condominium building in Jersey City, officials said Tuesday, in what would become “by far the tallest building in New Jersey.”

The firm, China Overseas America, also plans to include 18,000 square feet of commercial and retail space and new public plaza and park space, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a news release. The 950-foot-tall project would rise at 99 Hudson St., a waterfront site acquired in fall 2013 by a group known as China Construction America Inc. for $70 million.

Fulop said Jersey City’s planning board was scheduled to vote Tuesday night on a change to a city redevelopment plan for the site, and the plan would then head to the City Council for approval. The planning board would then vote on final site plan approval, with China Overseas America Inc. anticipating construction to start in late spring.

A project cost was not immediately available.

If completed, it would add to a city that is already home to seven of the state’s 10 tallest buildings and is undergoing the biggest construction boom in its history, Fulop said. He said that, in 2014, the Hudson County seat led New Jersey in residential construction starts with more than 6,000 units under construction and another 18,000 approved.

“This is another milestone moment for Jersey City,” Fulop said in a prepared statement. “Our plan here is to continue building a world class skyline and to continue leading the region in job creation with projects like this, and we couldn't be more excited to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of investment into the city.

“This project is going to further put Jersey City on the map.”

The tallest building in New Jersey already is in Jersey City at 30 Hudson St., the home of the 781-foot-tall Goldman Sachs tower. The property known as Trump Plaza, at 532 feet, is the state’s tallest residential building and is also in Jersey City.

And in the city’s Journal Square section, one of the three towers being developed as part of Kushner Real Estate Group’s Journal Squared project is expected to be the second-tallest residential building in the state, behind 99 Hudson.

“We are committed to developing this iconic project on Jersey City’s waterfront,” Cindy Xiu, president of China Overseas America Inc., said in a prepared statement. “This is indicative of the continuing growth of Jersey City and the administration’s vision to make this best midsized city in America.”

The last large-scale condominium project in Jersey City was Crystal Point, which opened in 2009 with 269 units, the news release said. Since then, development in Jersey City has been marked by an explosion in rental projects tied to its transportation infrastructure and growing population of upwardly mobile young professionals.